Tag Archives: Cable Landing Station

A house that isn’t a house.

Cable landing stations come in various forms. Mainly industrial buildings but here is one on a housing estate hidden inside two houses. The inner walls and floors have been removed to house the fibre terminating equipment. The four large air con units outside give it away. The garage houses the backup generator.

A house that isn’t a house !
Large air con units outside.
Hard to spot driving past.
Its a Cable Landing Station.
In disguise.
With a generator in the garage.
Fibre cable ducts in the road outside.
Fibre cable ducts in the road outside.

Proposed Equipment Building Plan

Proposed Equipment Building Plan

The Secrets of Cornwall by Mark Thomas.

This video fuelled my interest in a more detailed search for the hidden buildings and ducts that make up the Internet Backbone of the UK.

Watched this video several hundred times pausing and following Mark’s journey mapping the sites he visited. Also used a number of sources like Secret Bases and Internet Maps to map other interesting sites. Some sites were found by endlessly and painfully zooming and scrolling Google Maps !

I have made up several KML files locating each these sites and the route of the GTN and other fibre cables.

My Mapped Points Of The Internet Backbone ( work in progress )

My Mapped Points of The National Grid ( work in progress )

Skewjack Farm – SoC 16:45
Skewjack Farm – SoC 16:45
Skewjack Farm – SoC 16:45
Skewjack Farm – SoC 16:45
Skewjack Farm – SoC 16:45
Possible Cable Route from Skewjack to Unoccupied Building GHCQ ?
BT Lands End – SoC 20:55
BT Lands End – SoC 20:55
Virgin Media Rodricks Farm – SoC 22:00
Virgin Media Rodricks Farm – SoC 22:00
Virgin (NTL) Interconnect SoC 22:00
Verizon Relay Station – Soc 22:30
Verizon Relay Station – Soc 22:30
Verizon Relay Station – Soc 22:30
Verizon Relay Station – Soc 22:30
Verizon Relay Station – Soc 22:30
Verizon Relay Station – Soc 22:30
Verizon Relay Station MHC – Soc 22:47
Verizon Relay Station MHC – Soc 22:47
Verizon Relay Station MHC – Soc 22:47
Verizon Relay Station MHC – Soc 22:47
Whitesands Cable Landing Station – SoC 23:50
Whitesands Cable Landing Station– SoC 23:50
Whitesands Cable Landing Station– SoC 23:50
Sennen Cove Cable.
BT Sennen Cove – SoC 24:20
Possible Cable Routes from Porthcurno to Whitesands CLS.
Multiple MHC – SoC 26:04
Multiple MHC – SoC 26:04
Connect Sands UK-Spain Locked MHC 2 – SoC 33:25
Pentewan Locked MHC TAT-14 – SoC 36:58
Pentewan Locked MHC Close Up 2 TAT-14 – SoC 36:58
Cable & Wireless Fraddon Map – SoC 40:06
India Queens Virgin Media – SoC 40:40
India Queens Level 3 – SoC 40:40
GTN Black Cross – SoC 41:17
GTN Black Cross – SoC 41:27
Decommisioned TAT3 & TAT8 Cable Landing Station & Bunker Widmouth Bay
Widmouth Bay TAT3 TAT8 CLS – SoC 42:48
Widmouth Bay TAT3 TAT8 CLS – SoC 43:00
Widmouth Bay TAT3 TAT8 CLS Bunker – SoC 43:02
Apollo North CLS – SoC 44:23
Valley Truckle MHC – SoC 42:28
Valley Truckle MHC – SoC 42:30
Widmouth Bay TAT3 TAT8 CLS – SoC 42:45
Widmouth Bay TAT3 TAT8 CLS Bunker – SoC 42:49
Widmouth Bay TAT3 TAT8 CLS – SoC 42:56
Widmouth Bay MHC Locked – SoC 44:05
Apollo North CLS – SoC 45:30
Apollo North CLS – SoC 45-:39
Verizon Bude – SoC 46:01
Surf Telecom – SoC 47:12
Western Power Distribution & Serf Telecom.
Western Power Distribution & Serf Telecom.
Western Power Distribution & Serf Telecom.
Western Power Distribution & Serf Telecom.
Western Power Distribution & Serf Telecom.
Level 3 CLS Gate – SoC 47:39
GCHQ Sign – SoC 49:34
Hiberian Express Vacuum Cable Repeater – SoC 52:44
Cable Landing Station at Dumpton Gap.
Virgin Media at Southern Cemetery Manchester.
Virgin Media in Odd Down, Bath.
Virgin Media in Staple Hill, Bristol.
Virgin Media in Staple Hill, Bristol
Virgin Media Switching Centre Bradley Stoke, Bristol

Submarine Cables & Landing Stations

The physical connectivity of the Internet is of great fascination to me. From Submarine Cables and Cable Landing Stations to fibre ducts running up and down the country between Exchanges and POPs.

From under the sea and beach…
…into ducts in the sand…
…and underground chambers…
…under the roads…
..to Cable Landing Stations.
Terminating…
…inside…
…into racks…
…of switches…
…and routers.